Little Miss Hyde
by Professor Rose Thorn
Summary: Helga struggles on a day to day basis to be herself, but never can. But when Arnold loses it and says he hates her, this devastates Helga and starts a big battle for her identity. And she will do anything to find her true self and win Arnold’s love…
1. Arnold's Had Enough

I'm only saying this once so I won't have to do this again (it's annoys me to no end). I don't own Hey Arnold nor shall I ever will.

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter: 

Grandpa: Well Arnold, we will have to sell the boarding house, me and grandma will have to go to an old folks home, and you will be an orphan living in some state like Manitoba. Wait, that's a provinence! OH NO ARNOLD! YOU WILL BE A CANADIAN!

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Chapter 1 - Arnold's Had Enough

"Greetings and salutations Helga. How are you doing on this splendid morning? Doing well I hope?" Phoebe says, sitting next to her best friend on the bus.

Helga's scowl doesn't waver, "Just fine Phoebe. Everything is just peachy!" she says sarcastically, not even bothering to lift her gaze from the window.

Phoebe frowns, "You seem agitated and disquieted. Pray tell, what is your distress?"

Helga points her thumb back behind them. "That's what."

Behind them a few seats was Arnold and Gerald. Arnold was busy talking to a young redhead seated across from them.

"Arnold, I think it's ever so sweet of you to invite me to that new movie, but it sounds too much like a… well… a date or something."

"But we'll have friends there! Gerald is going-"

"And he is going with Phoebe. Please Arnold, I like you, I really do, but just not that way." She gets up and moves to a different seat, leaving a confused Arnold behind.

Phoebe looks back at Helga, frowning. "I see…"

"Yup, football face is still after little miss perfect." She restrains the urge to punch a hole through the seat in front of them. "Criminey! When is he gonna get a clue and get over her?!"

Phoebe shrugs at the question. "When he finds another object of affection to pine after, I suppose."

Helga shoots a look that said 'yeah right' at Phoebe, who just shrugs again. Helga then grins, "So when we're you gonna tell me about your little date with Gerald?" Phoebe's cheeks turn slightly pink, making her best friend's grin widen even more. "So? When did he ask you? Tell me the details."

"Well, technically it's not a date. It was Arnold who extended the invitation. Gerald just happens to be going as well."

Helga smirks, "Yeah whatever. I bet Arnoldo did that to finally get you guys together." She looks back out the window and frowns, "And to change Lila's mind."

~~~~~

Arnold watches Lila as she moved to a new seat and shakes his head. "I don't get it Gerald. She said that I had a chance at the cheese festival. Yet she doesn't want to do anything with me."

Gerald rolls his eyes. "That because you act too desperate man, you're too forward. And that's with all girls you like." A grins widely. "You need to take some 'love lessons' from the love master my man. I'll be happy to teach you some pickup lines."

Arnold grins back at him, "Yeah, sure, 'love lessons', that's exactly what I need, another way to look stupid in front of girls. I just want a girl that likes me back. And anyway, who was it that asked Phoebe to go to the movie for you?"

"Hey! It's my way of being smooth, and it just happens to be through you."

Arnold rolls his eyes. "Whatever you say Gerald. Whatever you say."

~~~~~

"Settle down class! Settle down!" Mr. Simmons calls above the roar of the 4th grade class, grabbing everyone's attention. Helga just glances up at him briefly before looking back down at her notebook, which she was ripping potential spitballs out of.

"Class I have good news today! Though I know that our last book assigned was a little… well…"

"Facetious?" finishes Phoebe.

"No way! It was too boring!" says Herald, then starts wondering what 'facetious' means.

"Stupid is more like it." Helga says, rolling her eyes. Everyone to nodded and agreed with her.

Mr. Simmons grimaces. "Well yes, I suppose out last book was a little tedious, though I am sure you will find our next book engaging!"

"What is it Mr. Simmons?" asks Gerald.

"Has anyone heard of Robert Louis Stevenson?" The silence told him that they didn't. "Robert Louis Stevenson was a author in the 1880s that wrote short stories for magazines. Today we're going to start his most famous piece." He holds up a book, a man with a top hat and a man with an evil look on the cover. "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The class murmurs their opinion to each other.

Mr. Simmons smiles. "And you'll be happy to know that it only has ten chapters."

The 4th graders starts yelling and clapping at that news, happy it isn't a gazillion page book. He passes the books out, signaling the start of the school day.

~~~~~

"I'm looking forward to reading this particular novel. It seems engaging."

"Yeah well, I just hope it doesn't put me to sleep." She shoves someone as she walks by him, "Watch it Hairboy! I'm walkin' here!"

Arnold frowns as Helga shoots a sneer at him before she turns around in the lunch line.

Phoebe frowns, then shakes her head. She knew better than anyone that with Helga, leave the subject of picking on Arnold alone. She continues on with their conversation, "I assure you that it won't make you drowsy Helga. From the impression of others, it's truly a seriously commendable parable."

"Yeah, I guess so Pheebs." They sit down at one of the big tables in the cafeteria, joining most of the 4th graders. "Who knows, maybe it'll be a good book."

"Ya fellers talkin' bout that Jekyll and Hyde book?" asks Stinky.

"I bet it's stupid!" says Herald.

"I think this is smacked." comments Sid.

"Its whacked Sid, whacked." corrects Gerald, sitting down at the table, Arnold does likewise next to him.

Helga rolls her eyes and takes the bendy straw that was in her milk from her mouth. "That's only because you guys can't read."

"It doesn't seem very cheerful. Does it have blood?" asks Sheena, who faints at the sight or mention of blood.

"I saw it in a musical Sheena, don't worry, there's no blood." comforts Eugene.

"You saw Dr. Jycklle Mr. Hyde as a musical? Was it like that other one you went to? Dogs?" laughs Helga, trying not to squirt milk out her nose.

"Hey! Dogs was good!"

"Either way I'm not readin' it! I bet it sucks!"

"Only because you suck Herald. Second only to the football face." Helga snickers, seeing a dark look cross his face.

"What's with you Helga? Why do you always have ta pick on my main man?" asks Gerald.

"Aw, what's the matter Geraldo? Did I say something to upset you?" she laugh grows. "You should really let Arnold fight his own battles. Maybe he would be a little less pathetic!" The words flew out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying, but it was too late. The damage was done.

Arnold gets up from the table and leaves without saying a word. Almost stomping instead of walking. Gerald quickly gets up and follows him, but not without casting a look at Helga.

"Gees Helga, that shur was mean of ya." Says Stinky.

"Its none of your beeswax Stinky." She gets up from the table and dumps her tray. She didn't feel hungry anymore. She storms out of the cafeteria and into her safe-house, the bathroom.

Only there did she nearly cursed herself for what she did.

~~~~~

"What's her problem anyway?! Why does she always have to pick on me?! What's so fascinating about me to make her pick on me, out of the entire 4th grade?!" Arnold storms. He had made his way to his locker and was trying to open it, but his anger was making his hands shake too much to get the combination to the lock right.

Gerald frowns at his best friend, concerned, "I don't know Arnold, and I don't know why you put up with her either. I mean, how many spitballs did she already spit at you today?"

"At least thirty, and all before lunch."

Gerald shakes his head, "I know you always say you try to ignore her so she'll stop Arnold, but she's done this since preschool. I don't think she's gonna stop unless you do something."

"Like what? Fight her? You know I don't fight Gerald. Especially girls."

Gerald rolls his eyes, "One, it's to prove a point. Two, this is Helga we're talkin' about, she ain't a girl. She's the most unladylike girl I have ever met. She even scares Wolfgang. Three, and most important, she's not gonna stop unless you do fight her."

Arnold shakes his head. "No. I'm not going to fight her. As much as she wants to deny it, she's still a friend of ours."

"So what's plan B?"

Arnold finally opens his locker. "I'm going to talk to her after school. Hopefully she'll listen to me."

Gerald chuckles, "Sure Arnold. Just one question?"

"What?"

"What do you want on your tombstone? Cuz your a dead man."

~~~~~

RRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!

"Okay class! Remember your reading assignments tonight! You're dismissed!" says Mr. Simmons over the roar of kids. But the 4th grader were already heading out the door, talking to one another.

"Criminey! I thought this day would never end Pheebs."

Phoebe nods as they make their way to the bus stop. "Yes, I too, am not particularly fond of Mondays."

"I just want to relax before heading to the Gerald's Field, maybe write a few poems."

Phoebe looks over at Helga as they sit down on the bus stop bench. "I would assume you would not want to be in the vicinity of… Ice Cream… today. Considering the incident that occurred during lunch."

Helga winces, then shrugs her shoulders. "I forgot until now. Well I'll avoid him until then. Why bring up the past huh? I bet ol' football face has already forgotten it by now."

"Hey Helga."

She jumps at Arnold's voice, then scowls at him and Gerald. "What do you want Arnoldo?"

"I need to talk to you." he looks over at Phoebe, "Could you please leave Phoebe? No offense, I just need to talk to her alone."

"It's quite all right Arnold, I take no offense. I'll talk to you on the bus Helga."

Gerald and Arnold exchange their secret handshake. "I'll save your seat man."

"I won't be long."

Phoebe and Gerald walk to the other side of the group of people waiting for the bus, starting a conversation of their own.

"So what is it paste-for-brains, your taking up my busy schedule here." Growls Helga.

Arnold frowns at the name, "I want you to stop it."

"Stop what Arnoldo?" she asks nonchalantly.

"That. The name calling, the spitballs, just the constant picking on me. I want you to stop it."

She stands up and looks him in the eye. "And why should I, _Arnold_?" and evil grin spreads on her face. "You'll do what? Tell on me? Or the usual? Wait patiently for me to stop on my own free will."

Arnold's anger started boiling again. He was struggling to keep it under control. But he couldn't help thinking that even after just a few minutes of talking with Helga, his mild manner was almost out the window. "I don't get you Helga. Why are you always picking on me? What makes me special?"

Helga looks him in the eye, "Because you're you. You always insist on helping everyone with their problems. Because you're so freakin' kind and caring and nice. Because. You're. You!" And that was the most honest thing she had ever said to him, ever since on top of the FTi tower anyway.

All right. That's it. Arnold's had enough. "You know what Helga?! I don't care anymore! No matter what I do to even _attempt_ being nice to you you'll always hate me! And you know what Helga?!" His glare burned into hers for what seemed to be an eternity. "I hate you too!" He couldn't believe he had just said that, but he knew it was true.

Helga feet stepped away from him, it felt like he just threw a thousand daggers at her heart. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me Helga Pataki! I hate you!"

Helga stared at him for a long moment then turned around and started walking. She couldn't bear his sight anymore. She had to get away from him. A tear streamed down her cheek as her steps gradually increased from a walk into a run.

Arnold silently watched as Helga walked away from the bus stop, still fuming from his bottled up anger. He was glad he had gotten that out to her. Now maybe she would leave him alone. Though he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret in his stomach for her.

He looks around and realizes he's alone. "I missed the bus!"


	2. Little Black Bottle

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter: 

Arnold: Who were you talking to, Grandma?

Grandma: Oh just Eleanor Roosevelt, dear. But she was called away on official White House business and jumped out the window.

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Chapter 2 - Little Black Bottle

You heard me Helga Pataki! I hate you!

Helga couldn't seem to get those words out of her head. The image of him yelling it still vivid in her memory. He looked so angry; she could tell he really meant it. It shocked Helga that he could feel that way about her. I mean, all she did was pick on him, right?

I hate you… I hate you… I hate you…

A tear falls from Helga's cheek before she could wipe it away. It lands on the alleyway cement, turning the spot where it landed from a light gray to a darker shade of gray. Helga's eyes look upwards to the heavens, which are covered conveniently with dark, menacing clouds.

_Who do you think you're kidding Helga? For the last five years all you've done is pick on him endlessly. Five years! Did you really expect that he wouldn't do something like what he did eventually?_

Helga just shakes her head in frustration, confused. _But this is __Arnold__ we're talking about here. He's never blown up at someone like that before…_

This time Helga catches the tear before the world even saw it, as if it never happened. _He's been bottling it up all this time… because of me…_

_Let's face it. __Arnold__ will never like Helga G. Pataki! As a friend or otherwise!_ A scowl quickly forms on her face. _Fine! If that's what he wants, he'll never see her again!_

Helga silently reveals her golden heart locket from under her shirt. She stares Arnold's picture for a long moment, a sense of finality settles in her stomach. With look of determination on her face, Helga stands up and walks out from the shadows of the secluded alleyway. She knows exactly what she needs to do.

_Helga G. Pataki will be no more…_

~~~~~

The bells on the door ring loudly as Helga walks into the store.

"Be right with you Mrs. Jones. I'm in the middle of making your anti-aging potion right now." says a woman's voice in the back room.

Helga smirks and slides her pink and white backpack from her back onto the floor. "What yuts are you conning now Blanche?"

A woman dressed like a gypsy pokes her head out the back room doorway, then smiles. "Ah! Helga! My favorite customer! Be right with you dear." Her head disappears from view again and seconds later there's a poof sound. A sheer purple smoke rolls slowly through the doorway.

Madam Blanche emerges from the smoke, coughing, waving it from her face with her hand. "And she wonders why I don't make this stuff much." She leans on the counter and looks at Helga. "So Helga, what can I do you for? The usual?"

Helga smirks again, "You sound like a bartender when you say it like that you know?" Her face grows serious. "And no. I need something different this time."

Madam Blanche raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.

"I need a potion for a new personality."

The woman frowns, "No."

Helga's jaw drops, "What? You mean that out of all the junk you sell to those saps out there you can't make something like that?!"

"I never said I couldn't make it." Helga's face brightens. "It's just too dangerous." 

Helga's jaw drops again, "But why?!"

"Do you know the story of Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde?"

"Yeah, we just started reading it in class. Why?"

"Because Dr. Jekyll really did change into a different person. Mister Edward Hyde."

Helga's jaw drops again, "I thought he wasn't real!"

Madam Blanche shakes her head, "No. Henry Jekyll was real. But everyone thought it was just a story." Her eyes narrow at Helga. "He was a doctor Helga, and a scientist. And he ended up killing himself." She crosses her arms. "What makes you think you could control it?"

"Because I have a reason!" Helga snarls. "I have a purpose! And I won't let it get in my way!" she slams her palm on the counter. "My 'ice cream' is at stake here! He is my reason! I promise I won't kill myself." She slides her palm forward on the counter and lifts up her hand, revealing several bills. "I'm willing to pay interest. All I need is a temporary potion."

Madam Blanche looks down at the money, then back up at Helga. The here eyes are pleading desperately. "And this is all for 'ice cream'?"

Helga nods deeply, "Yes. It is."

"Hmm…" Madam Blanche struggles. Helga is the strongest willed person she has ever met. Maybe Helga has what it takes to keep this thing under control. And Helga is willing to do anything for this boy, so he must be worst it. The woman sighs slowly, then shakes her head. In the end this was Helga's decision, not hers to make. She holds up two fingers. "Two weeks."

Helga beams, "Two weeks."

"That's it. That's all I'm going to sell you."

Helga nods her head excitedly. "Yes. That's fine."

"But I have to warn you Helga, this stuff is addictive. You sure you can stop when you need to?"

Helga nods again, but deeply this time. "Yes. I can."

Blanche looks at Helga for a moment, then turns and disappears into her back room. She soon reemerges carrying a black, crystal-like bottle with a crystal stopper. She places it on the counter. "Take one teaspoon for six hours. Take it only after you've changed back."

Helga grins, "Gotcha." She grabs the bottle and carefully places it inside her backpack.

"And Helga?"

Helga looks back up at Madam Blanche. "Yeah?"

"When you take it, you might experience some… discomfort."

"No prob." Helga slings her backpack over her shoulder, already running out the door. A faint "Thanks Madam Blanche!" sounds right before the door's bells.

The gypsy woman frowns, crossing her arms. She sighs after a long moment, then shakes her head. She really hoped this guy is worth it.

~~~~~

Helga quickly shuts her bedroom door behind her, gasping for air. Letting her backpack fall off her shoulders, she slides to the floor. The shortcut through the park had saved her some time, but she was still exhausted.

Her eyes wander around her room while catching her breath. If you didn't know it was Helga's, you would think that the girl was very feminine. From the ruffles on her curtains to her sheets on her bed, everything was pink, her favorite color. And the only one that will ever know that is Phoebe, ever.

When she does catch her breath she unzips her backpack to retrieve the black bottle. She turns it in her hand, studying it. Soon the realization slowly sinks in that this is her answer. This is her answer to all her problems

She is sick and tired of her life, to put it mildly. Big Bob yells at her everyday, she gets compared to Olga constantly, and Miriam… well, let's just not go there.

At school its worse, it that's possible. The only recognition or respect she gets is because of her bulling, the other fourth graders talk behind her back, and the only friend she has is Phoebe, her sidekick and minion.

But the last straw was that her beloved, _her_ Arnold, hated her. He said so himself. Twice.

A pain pings through her heart at that thought.

The bottom line was she didn't want to be Helga Pataki anymore. She wants to be herself and not be known as the biggest bully at PS 118. She wants to be the girl she knows is buried somewhere inside herself. She wants to be the girl Arnold will fall in love with.

She looks down at the bottle again, knowing she held her answer. Now is the time.

_Well, let's do this._

She walks downstairs into the kitchen, where Miriam was knocked out cold. She's drooling on the counter, an empty smoothie glass in her hand, snoring loudly. Helga rolls her eyes and opens the silverware drawer, picking up a spoon. She walks back up the stairs, closing the door softly behind her, shutting out Miriam's snores.

She swiftly opens her closet door and pushes back the clothes, revealing a ladder. She climbs it into the attic and the image of her latest shrine comes into view.

It has changed since the bear shrine. It now resembled more of a scarecrow. It had a football for its head, a rainbow of feathers for its hair, and its eyes were two green jelly beans, stuck to the football with chewed bubble gum that was chewed by Arnold himself.

The football was mounted on brushless broomsticks and had clothes similar to Arnold's covers the sticks. Scattered around it were dozens of unlit candles. And as a last minute thought, she had strung a locket similar to hers on the scarecrow-like statue's neck, her own picture inside it. To Helga it symbolizes her wish for the future.

Helga kneels on the floor and sighs. "Oh Arnold my love. Did you really mean what you said? Do you really despise me enough to cast me from your warm company to the cold nothingness of my soul?" Her eyes look up at the likeness of Arnold. "Though I have tormented you for so long, my football headed love god, you have utterly destroyed my very essence in three words."

She uncaps the crystal stopper from the black bottle. Tilting the bottle, a bubbling green concoction slowly pours onto the spoon. Helga grimaces at the smell.

"Well, here it goes. Bottoms up." She then puts the spoon her mouth and drinks the potion. When she drinks it all she closes her eyes in anticipation.

Several longs moments tick by as Helga waits for the change. She opens her eyes slowly, "What? I'm still me? What the heck happened?" Helga faces changes into a scowl. "Blanche gypped me!"

Then a powerful pain shot throughout her body, immediately curling Helga's body into a ball. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes a pain beyond description courses through every vain. It was so intense that it couldn't be compared to anything else. Though if you asked Helga herself, she would say that it felt like her insides were being scraped away all at once by a dull knife.

And when Helga thinks that it would never go away, it stops.


	3. Surprise

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter:

Helga: I'm a super model! I'm a super duper model! I haven't eaten in four weeks!

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Chapter 3 - Surprise

"So tell me man. What happened at the bus station?" asks Gerald. "It's obvious she didn't kill you." he tosses the weather-worn baseball up in the air and catches it again. He and Arnold are sitting on Arnold's stoop just talking, passing the time until their practice at Gerald Field.

Arnold frowns at the question, then shakes his head. "I don't want to talk about Helga right now Gerald. I'm still a little frustrated."

Gerald raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "It was that bad huh?"

Arnold pounds his fist into his baseball mitt before answering, "It went worse than you think." He pounds his mitt again. "She is just so… so… confusing! She picks on my everyday, calling me names like football head, yuts, and paste-for-brains, then she can turn around and do something admirable. She just doesn't make sense."

"Wait Arnold. Are you sure you're talking about Helga here? Helga G. Pataki? When was the last time she actually did something nice?"

"She invited us to that French restaurant."

"Which was the wrong restaurant." Gerald counters.

"Anyone could make that mistake."

"Then she tried to order lots of food to get out of paying the bill. And when that didn't work, she planted roaches there and the place was shut down."

"In the end she felt guilty and went back and told them what she did."

"Which lead us to washing dishes." Gerald shakes his head. "Man, and after all that, we still had to wash those stinkin' dishes."

Arnold smirks. "I didn't hear you complaining when you were washing next to Phoebe."

Gerald blushes slightly, "But that's not the point."

Arnold rolls his eyes, a grin on his face, "The point is that Helga did the right thing, even after she had gotten away with it." His eyes turn to his glove again, "I just wish that she could stop being Helga the bully and be herself. The one that went back to the restaurant after all that happened." Arnold sighs heavily. "But she always goes back to the bully Helga that picks on me. I don't even get why she picks on me in the first place."

Gerald rolls the baseball in his hand, "Did you ask her about that?"

Arnold nods, "Yeah, and her answer is just as confusing as she is."

"Well?"

"She said that she can't stop picking on me because I'm me."

Gerald stops the ball in his palm and looks straight at Arnold, "Huh? What is that suppose to mean?'

Arnold shrugs his shoulders, "Don't know, but what happened next was… well…"

"Well what?"

Arnold struggles, grimacing, "…I kinda yelled at her."

Gerald's jaw drops in amazement. "And you're still alive?! I'm calling some newspapers cuz this will make the front page!"

Arnold's eyes narrow at his best friend, "Gerald, please. I'm serious."

"So? What did you say?"

"That I hated her…"

Gerald blinks a few times, "Whoa."

"I feel really bad about it Gerald." He shifts his weight uneasily, "I think I really hurt her." He looks up at the dark, threatening clouds hanging in the sky, then sighs dejectedly. "I think I made her cry."

Gerald looks at Arnold for a long moment, surprised. "Are you for real?"

Arnold slowly nods, "Yeah, I think I really did make her cry."

"Let me guess. You're going to talk to her and straighten this out, right? Because you feel bad for her? Even though this is Helga we're talkin' about here?"

Arnold nods again, "She's catching for Herald's team as usual today. I'm going to try to talk to her after the game."

Gerald shakes his head at Arnold with pity. "Just hope she won't leave you black and blue."

"Hopefully I can her to listen to me before that can happen."

"What you need to do is to ask yourself one question."

Arnold raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "And what's that?"

Gerald grins widely at his best friend, "What you want on your tombstone, cuz you're a dead man."

~~~~~

The game was cut short as kids were called in for dinner, though it didn't stop Herald's team from winning, much to Gerald's dismay. Both boys stayed behind at Gerald Field, not wanting to leave yet.

"That was great game. We did better than last time." Arnold wipes the warm sweat from his forehead as he sits on the field's peeling blue bleachers. The sky above had cleared and now is a rainbow of colors as the sun hovers over the horizon. Gerald sits right next to him, bitter.

"Arnold, we lost 9 to 12!" scowls Gerald.

"And the game before that one was 5 to 14. We've improved."

Gerald's eyes narrow at him, "The only reason it was 9 to 12 this time was because Pataki didn't catch for them!"

"Although that seems to be a logical and sound justification, Gerald, I have to argue the fact that one person can not effect a game that abundantly."

Arnold and Gerald turn to see Phoebe standing in front of them, smiling.

Gerald grins at the sight of her, "And I don't care what you say, if it meant having Eugene catch instead of Helga, it would effect who wins the game! That boy's a jinx!"

Phoebe's smile widens, "Either way it doesn't matter. You lost."

Gerald puts a hand over his heart playfully, "Oh, that hurts."

Arnold shakes his head, a smile on his face. "So why are you still here Phoebe? The game's over."

"Is it because you can't stand being away from me Phoebe?" Gerald teases.

Phoebe shakes her head, "No Gerald, that is not the reason. I can be quite content not being in your vicinity, if needed be."

"If needed be? I don't know if I should be insulted or not."

"Actually I was wondering if either of you have seen Helga lately." Phoebe continues, not skipping a beat.

"No, not recently. I haven't seen her since I talked to her at the bus stop." Arnold answers.

Phoebe frowns a little. "Well that's unusual. I have yet to see her since then also. I hope she is well."

Gerald waves his hand indifferently, "You both worry about that girl too much. She knows how to take care of herself, that's for sure."

"That may be so, but I'm her friend. And I can't help but be concerned."

"I bet there's a reason she hasn't shown up yet, Phoebe. And when she does, can you tell her I want to talk to her?"

"About what Arnold?"

He struggles, "About what happened at the bus stop."

Phoebe nods. "I will Arnold. Just hope she is willing to converse with you."

"Yeah, me too."

~~~~~

Arnold pushes the now empty plate from him, feeling full.

"How's that watermelon casserole tex?" asks Pookie, Arnold's grandma. She was currently dressed as a cowgirl and for some odd reason has a frying pan in her hand and a rubber chicken in the other.

"It was fine grandma."

"Sure, it was fine for you!" says Phil, Arnold's grandpa. "I'll probably be in the 'office' till dooms day if you keep serving watermelon every night like you have been Pookie!"

"Oh Yankee Doodle went to town! Riding on a pony!" sings Pookie

"Grandma, why are you carrying around that chicken and skillet for?"

"The chicken is to lure the rats out and the pan's to knock them out! Our next supper if slim here doesn't want watermelon!" Pookie picks up Arnold's plate and takes it to the sink, washing it along with the other dirty dishes. She keeps singing Yankee Doodle off key.

Grandpa puts his newspaper down on the table and gets up, mumbling something how he's going to be in his "office" all night. Arnold shakes his head amusingly. He loves his grandparents, but they're strange sometimes. Arnold trudges upstairs into his bedroom.

After changing into his pajamas he flops onto his bed as some soft jazz music comes on from his stereo. Grudgingly he opens up his copy of 'Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde', knowing he needs to read his assignment. But Arnold only does it halfheartedly.

To be honest Arnold was distracted. Phoebe had called and said she hasn't reached Helga yet. She sounded worried. And to be honest, Arnold is worried too. It wasn't like Helga to skip baseball and not be home all afternoon. He's afraid that Helga had done something like run away from home, though it was unlikely. What if she was hurt and couldn't get help? And all because of him.

He tried to reassure himself that Helga just went out to do something and accidentally forgot they had a game that day. Even though Helga wouldn't forget about a game. And if someone tried to mug her, she could take care of them without a second thought.

He smiles at that image in his head. He knows Helga could take care of herself. But for some reason that didn't make his worry go away.

Arnold gives up trying to read and rolls over onto his back. Propping his head up on his arms, he stares into the now blue velvet sky, wondering. What was it that made him so concerned about Helga's well being? She certainly didn't show him anything other than teasing, so why should he worried about her?

Maybe it's because she was a riddle, a puzzle that he wanted to solve someday. But no matter how hard he tried to figure Helga out, she just became that much more confusing to him.

In the end he just figures that it's just the thing he does. He helps people when they need him. He cares about people. And in Helga's words, that's what makes him him.

In the corner of his eye a shadow flickers by his roof window, catching Arnold's attention. What was that? Could something be up there? But why would something be on his roof? Maybe it was some pigeons or some other birds. It made since.

A shadow hovers over the window, blocking out the full moon's bright light and falling over Arnold.

It was a person! But why would someone be on Arnold's roof?

Arnold climbs his ladder steadily, opens the window and steps out onto Sunset Arms' rooftop. His curiosity melts into shock at what he sees. His jaw instantly drops.

"Cecile?!"

The girl smiles pleasantly. "Bonjour Arnold."

"What are you doing here?!"

She laughs, "That is a silly question. I am looking at the stars, of course."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, why are you on my rooftop?"

"Arnold, I wanted to see you, okay? And it's so beautiful out here I thought it would be great to met you on the roof." Her smile widens. "Even though you are in you pjs."

Arnold looks down at his light blue pajamas, then back up at Cecile, blushing. "Er… I… uh…"

"Don't worry about it Arnold." Her cheeks blush a light pink and her gaze briefly meets the floor, "You're cute no matter what you wear."

His cheeks turn even brighter and his lips form a dopey grin. "Th-thanks."

"I know I left without explanation last time Arnold, but it was for the best. I am very sorry about that."

"Why are you here now?"

Her smile dazzles, "That's your surprise Arnold. Well, part of it anyway." She slowly walks to him. "Part of it you'll get tomorrow. And the other part." She stops just inches from his face. "I want to give you personally."

As if in slow-motion, the girl that's been haunting Arnold's dreams since Valentines Day slowly inches closer to Arnold. Her lips meet with his cheek, sending an electrifying sensation trough every tip of his body.

And his heart was pumping hard through every second of it.


	4. First Day Of School

A/N: Definitions to French words are listed at the very bottom of the page, just in case you wanna know.

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter:

Curly: I bet she thinks I'm a geek 'cause my dad cuts my hair with a bowl…

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Chapter 4 - First Day Of School

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE—

SLAM!

Stupid alarm clock. Helga glances up and reads the red numbers, 7:05. In another nine minutes it will go off and Helga will slam the snooze button again, as usual. But right now Helga didn't care. Her head was throbbing with pain and it didn't seem to want to go away. She pulls her big pink pillow over her head and wishes for sleep to overcome her again. What makes her head hurt more was the fact that she woke up in the middle of this great dream. She was on Sunset Arm's rooftop kissing Arnold on the cheek, or at least Cecile was, Arnold's "French pen pal", sort to speak. What made the dream so good (besides the fact she was with Arnold) was that she knew how much he was blushing, and all because of _her!_ She lets out a large groan of aggravation. Why did she have to wake up?!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE—

SLAM!

Stupid alarm clock. Well, might as well start getting ready for another woopty do day at oh so lovable PS 118, no thanks to Blanche…

Helga pushes herself up in bed and lets out a long yawn, stretching her arms into the air. Huh? She brings down her hand and opens it to find a small, pink, handwritten note. It looks like a piece of her journal paper if she didn't know any better. She opens it and her eyes narrow. It is from her journal, but the handwriting is somehow different from her own. It looks more like Olga's writing, all neat and tiny. She starts reading it steadily.

_ Dear Helga,_

_ Allow me to introduce myself properly. If you haven't guessed by now, this is your other half, your split personality, your yang to your ying, or all of the above if you wish. _

_ I am Cecile._

_ No doubt I was as surprised as you are now when I woke yesterday in your attic. One of Madam Blanche's potions actually worked for once. How astounding. Realizing that yes, the transformation was a success, I decided why waste any more time. The sole reason for bringing me out was to win __Arnold__'s heart and soul, is it not? Of course it is darling. That's why I went and paid __Arnold__ a visit last night. Hence, your dream. As you know, it went perfectly. He is already on his way to falling in love with you, and hard I might add._

_ I also did a few other errands last night. Took care of a few loose ends. Like school, for example. Your homework will be ready for you on your dresser every night when you change back. And I've already given the school an excuse to why you are away, you are out of town. Regarding Phoebe, don't worry about her. She will be alright without you for a few trifle weeks. I'll specifically look out for her. And last of all, __Arnold__. Especially don't worry about __Arnold__. I will have him deeply in love with you before the two weeks are up._

_ Just remember not to answer the phone when you're at home, the door, or go anywhere outside in broad daylight. No one must know that you are still in Hillwood._

_ It is essential._

_ By now it is probably __7:17__, if I'm right._

Helga looks up at the clock and sure enough, it reads 7:17. She looks back down at the letter.

_ You have just enough time to change so I can go to my first day of school on time at PS 118. The bottle is on your dresser. _

_ To the beginning of a great future,_

_ Cecile_

Helga holds the letter out as if it was an alien, shocked, on several levels. But only one word escapes her lips.

"Whoa…"

~~~~~

"Good morning class!"

With a few groans, the class answers lazily, "Good morning Mr. Simmons."

The class's lack of enthusiasm doesn't falter their teacher the slightest. "Before we begin today I have a couple of announcements. Unfortunately we will be missing one of our classmates for a couple of weeks. I've been informed that Helga left town yesterday to take care of her sick aunt and won't be back until she's better."

"I bet she's the one that's making her sick! Ha ha!" says Herald. The class laughs at the joke.

"Herald…" Mr. Simmons warns. He sighs, then starts again. "I also had the delight of finding out this morning that our class has been selected to teach a foreign exchange student!" A murmur of interest buzzes in the classroom. This certainly is interesting. Mr. Simmons waves at the door. "Come on in."

A shy girl walks into the fourth grade class, nervous. She's wearing blue jeans, a light pink long-sleeved shirt, and a beret on her head that matches perfectly with the shirt. Her wavy blond hair flows over one eye, seeming to focus anyone's attention to her sapphire eye. She shifts a white and pink backpack on one shoulder. Arnold's jaw drops instantly, along with all the other boys' in the classroom.

"Class, I would like you to meet Cecile… uh…"

"Hyde. Cecile Hyde." She answers. Her eyes linger with Arnold's for a moment, a twinkle in her eye, before she turns back to Mr. Simmons. "I am sorry to say that my English is not so good Monsieur[1] Simmons. Is it possible to have… how do you say… an escort?"

"A student guide! What a special idea!" his face brightens at that the idea. "Will someone volunteer to be Cecile's student guide while she's here?"

Every single fourth grader shoots their hand up into the air, some waving frantically to be picked. Everyone wants to meet this beautiful and interesting looking girl. Lila, however, has an uncharacteristic scowl on her face, for some odd reason. Phoebe is only mildly interested at the new comer, only because her backpack looks like her best friend's backpack. How odd. Arnold, though, is still sitting in his chair, mouth open in amazement.

"Well, uh, this is certainly a pleasant surprise! Cecile? Who would you like to be your student guide?"

Cecile smiles shyly then tears her eyes from Arnold to Mr. Simmons. "Monsieur Simmons, Arnold has been my penpal for some time. Is it alright for he to be my escort?"

"I don't see why not." he looks over at his student. "Arnold? What do you think?"

"Uh…" he blinks a few times and lets the question soak in. "Sure, that's fine with me."

Mr. Simmons smiles widely, "Great. Cecile, you can have Helga's seat while she's gone. It's the seat behind Arnold."

"Merci beaucoup[2] Monsieur Simmons." She makes her way to her assigned seat, right behind Arnold. Right when she sits down, he turns around to face her, confused.

She just smiles at his expression and gives a wink. Then without a second thought, she gets out her textbook. Mr. Simmons is already beginning their first subject, so Arnold turns to face the green blackboard again, still baffled at the turn of events.

~~~~~

"And then you carry the eight—"

"BRING!"

"Yeah! Lunch time! Food!" cries Herald, and like a stampede, the fourth graders pour from the classroom in a hurry to lunch. 

"Hey Cecile!" Arnold calls as he tries to catch up to her, who is already in the hall.

"Bonjour[3] Arnold. How are you doing this morning?" she grins, "I am starving. Are you to show me where the café is?"

"Café? Oh, the cafeteria! Sure!" He smiles. They start making their way through the crowded hallway to the lunchroom, Arnold leading the way. "I still can't believe you're here at PS 118. It's amazing."

Cecile smiles slightly, a blush on her cheeks, "Is it that hard to believe?"

"Of course it's hard for me believe. You just disappeared that night, without telling me who you are. And now, without warning, you're back, as if you've never left." He pauses briefly, "Why did you come back Cecile?"

She stops walking at the question and he stops with her. A strange look flashes briefly in Cecile's eyes, but the next moment it was gone. The blush brightens on her cheeks. "I thought it was obvious. I came back because of you."

"But why me? Of all people, why me?"

"Arnold. I lo—"

"Why hello!" Arnold and Cecile turn and see Lila standing next to them, a tight smile on her face. "I believe we haven't been properly introduced." She does a small curtsy, "I'm Lila Ann Sawyer. It is ever so much a pleasure to met you."

Cecile just grins politely. It was clear that Lila didn't like her at all. Her manners are just for show. "Cecile Hyde." She also curtsies, but with more grace, "And the pleasure is all mine."

"Yes, I'm sure…" she says slowly, then plasters a large grin on her face and puts her arm affectionately and possessively through Arnold's, "Arnold, dear, I'm ever so looking forward to seeing the movie this weekend. When should you pick me up?"

Arnold is dumbfounded, "But Lila, you said—"

Cecile thought quickly, "I'm sorry to say Lila that Arnold has already asked me to this movie."

"I have?"

"He has?"

"Oui[4], he has." She looks over at Arnold, "But my English is not so good. Did my English get mixed up chéri[5]?"

"Uh… no, you didn't Cecile." He then speaks to Lila, "I asked her to come since you decided not to go." He tries a lame attempt at a smile, "No big deal, right?"

Lila's smile turns tight again, "Sure, no big deal." She unloops her arm from Arnold's, then plants a slow kiss on his cheek. When she finishes, she tosses a smirk at Cecile, then looks back at Arnold, "Maybe another time, _Arnold__._" Without another word, she walks into the cafeteria, a sway in her hips.

"Ooookay? What was that about?" asks Arnold, clearly confused. Lila was acting strange. Usually she didn't give him the time of day, so why did she say she was looking forward to the movie? Lila was dead set against going, why did she lie? And what was that kiss for? Arnold shakes his head. Weird. But then again, usually he would be swooning right now because of her, but he wasn't. That's even more weird.

Cecile shakes her head, amused. _That was certainly easier than planned. Thank you Lila Sawyer…_

Without warning a pierce of pain flew through Cecile's veins, forcing her to double over in agony. She quickly grits her teeth to hold back the moan that wants to get out.

"Cecile!" Arnold instantly goes to her side in alarm, "Are you okay?!"

She tries to smile through gritted teeth but another wave forces her eyes to shut tight. "I… just need to take my medicine Arnold." And without another word she runs off to the girls bathroom.

Slamming through the door, she quickly scans for other girls, which there isn't, thank goodness. She painfully closes the stall door behind her and sits on top the toilet seat. Somehow she reaches into her pocket and pulls an object out, but with much difficulty. With each passing second the pain intensifies. Not seeming to want to leave. After what seem like an eternity, it stops.

Slowly the girl opens her sapphire eyes to the surroundings. Sweat clinging to her brow. The ends of her blonde hair damp. She quickly recognizes where she is.

"The school's bathroom?" She gets up and unlatches the stall's door. Looking into the large mirror she sees her own reflection. Helga's reflection. At school her usual trademark scowl would be on her face where it belonged, but since she was alone with herself, it wasn't needed. She looks intensely at her image. Helga could have sworn that she saw herself smirk, but she just shakes her head. She was just imagining things.

She wipes the sweat from her forehead and sees what Cecile had grabbed from her jean's pocket. Helga does smirks this time, from amusement. Last Christmas Bob had this weird idea that she would love to get a junior science kit, since Olga loved hers at Helga's age. She had stuffed it out of sight underneath her bed and hadn't thought of it since. What she holds now is one of the test tubes from that kit, containing a spoonful of potion.

"Huh. She certainly plans ahead, I give her credit for that." She thinks to herself for a moment, "I better make sure no one's gonna barge in anytime soon." It would be horrible if someone found her here when she wasn't supposed to be in the school at all. She opens the wooden door only enough to stick her head out, looking down the long hallway. The only people not at lunch was Gerald, Phoebe, Arnold, and Lila, who was clinging to Arnold's arm again. Helga grits her teeth and lets out a silent growl. _What the name of criminey does she think she's doing to my __Arnold__?!_

"And she just ran off. I have no idea where she went." Sighs Arnold.

"Maybe she went back to France." Lila says smugly.

Arnold rolls his eyes and tries to get Lila off his arm again, but she doesn't budge. "I doubt it Lila."

"She said she needed to get her medicine? Maybe she went and got it from the school nurse." Says Gerald.

"Let's go check and see if she's there Gerald."

"While you see if she's with the nurse, I will investigate the girls' bathrooms." Offers Phoebe.

"Good idea. How about you go with her Lila. We can cover more ground that way." replies Arnold.

"Oh, but Arnold, I would ever so much rather stay with you instead." She bats her eyes flirtingly.

He rolls his eyes again. He doesn't have time for this. "Sure, whatever you say Lila. Let's just find Cecile." He, Gerald, and Lila start for the nurse's office and Phoebe turns to go to the closest girls' bathroom.

"Eep!" Helga quickly ducks back in the lavatory, hoping that Phoebe didn't see her duck back in. If Phoebe found out what Helga's latest scheme was… well, she didn't want to think about it. Without hesitation, she closes her stall's door behind her again, locking it for good measure.

She just has to change back into Cecile again! Before Phoebe finds out everything! She uncorks the glass tube and in one swift motion, drinks the green potion, grimacing from the taste.

The pain is instant this time. Shooting down to every tip of her body with terrible agony. Helga shuts her eyes hard and grits her teeth to keep from screaming. Hoping that it would end soon, and before Phoebe came and found her like this.

A small but noticeable creek of the door reaches her ears.

"Hello? Cecile? Are you in here?" Phoebe looks below and sees a pair of white shoes. She knocks on the door that belongs to the person's shoes. "Cecile? Is that you?"

The door opens and a calm Cecile walks out of the stall. "Oh! Hello! Were you looking for me?"

Phoebe nods, "Certainly. Arnold was worried when you ran off. He thought you were in pain."

Cecile smiles politely. "I appreciate his concern, but I am fine."

Phoebe was unsure if that was true, but she took Cecile's word that she was. "He said that you needed to get your medicine. Do you have allergies?"

A strange smile briefly tugs at the blonde's lips before vanishing. "You could say that. I need my medicine occasionally, but not much." She smiles kindly at Phoebe. "It's not enough to worry about." She shakes her head in amusement of herself. "Now where are my manners?" she sticks out her right hand for Phoebe to shake. "I am Cecile."

Phoebe shakes Cecile's hand with her own after a moment. "I'm Phoebe."

The blonde's smile broadens. "Well Phoebe. I do not know about you, but I am starving! Could you perhaps eat with me today?"

Phoebe finally smiles back at Cecile, "I would love to dine in your company Cecile." She's certainly nice. It feels good to have a pleasant acquaintance for once, Phoebe thinks. Hopefully she'll be here awhile.

Cecile opens the door for Phoebe and walks out behind her. Phoebe never saw the smirk that was tugging on the other girl's lips as they walked to the cafeteria.

* * *

[1] Mister

[2] Thank you very much

[3] Hello

[4] Yes

[5] Dear, sweetheart


	5. Ice Cream and Ice Cream

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter:

Helga: Oh, Arnold, you're so droll. You're just ever so droll.

Arnold: I am?

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Chapter 5 - Ice Cream and "Ice Cream"

"Triple Neapolitan Sundae, extra whip cream and don't spare the nuts!" Helga orders automatically. She plops onto one of the red stools along the long bar. "And make it snappy!"

The man in the white uniform just gives her a frown before deciding to ignore her tone, quickly setting the sundae before her.

"Finally. Decent service for once." She shoves a rather large spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and enjoys the sweetness.

Sure, she knew that Cecile warned her not to go out in public, but who cares? Helga was feeling too happy to be cooped up in the house all afternoon. So she decided to go to Slausen's and order her favorite sundae.

Eating another spoonful she thinks about the source of her happiness. The latest letter from Cecile she found this morning.

From what she had told Helga, everything is going great at school. Better even.

Cecile was _popular_. And this wasn't the kind where she had a few good friends in class and everyone else just knew her. This was the kind where everyone knew her name. The kind where everyone wanted to sit with her at lunch. AND the kind where the 6th graders actually want to hang out with her!

This is an amazing feat for a 4th grader. And only after three days!

Cecile, of course, was just flattered, and thought nothing of it. But that became harder as admirers started popping up at school. Boys constantly trying to serenade the exotic beauty from France. She couldn't go through the hall without a guy trying to impress her. The worst so far has involved Curly. He had painted himself in tiger stripes and performed a dancing ritual during lunch in order to prove he was the best "boyfriend" for her.

Helga shook her head at the thought of Curly doing some stupid dance in the lunchroom. Heh, she always knew he was a weirdo. This just takes the cake.

It's a good thing that Arnold was there both times. And to avoid future problems, he decided it was best to follow Cecile around to deflect the guys from her. To her locker, throughout recess, during lunch, he was always there with her. He even stays outside the girls' restroom while Cecile takes her "medicine", which surprised Helga on Wednesday.

She lets out a deep sigh. It's a dream come true for her. She followed her football headed love god around so often as Helga. Now he was following her as Cecile.

Helga slowly closes her eyes in pure ecstasy.

_Arnold__ wants to be around me! He actually WANTS to be around me!_ The thought alone sends Helga into a daydream including her beloved.

Not aware of her surroundings at the moment, she doesn't notice the door's bells ring as it opens.

"I would like a Triple Neapolitan Sundae please."

Helga nearly chokes on her sundae's cherry. _Arnold__?! What in the name of criminey is he doing here?!_

"And can I get that with extra whip cream and nuts?"

"Sure Arnold. One Triple Neapolitan Sundae with extra whip cream and nuts. Enjoy."

"Thanks." Arnold was about to sit in one of the booths when he sees Helga. "Cecile? Is that you?"

It takes all of Helga's willpower not to slap herself. _Cripes! I forgot to change! __Arnold__ think I'M Cecile!_ Hesitantly she turns on her stool to face Arnold.

"Uh, bonjour Arnold."

"Bonjour." He gives his famous smile. "Mind if I sit with you?"

His grin turns Helga weak in the knees. She hates it when she does that! She struggles to keep composed. "Uh, sure. Go ahead."

He sits himself on the stool next to her. "So…" he taps his fingers together nervously, not knowing exactly what to say.

Helga just keeps staring at her sundae, swirling some of the melted ice cream and hot fudge together with her spoon, trying to avoid his gaze, "So… what?"

"I'm, uh, looking forward to the movie tomorrow."

Helga nearly slaps herself again. _How could I forget about the movie?!_ "Yeah, uh… me too." She winces at her lame response. "So… what's this movie about?"

"Oh. It's about this guy that becomes an expert con-artist. He cashes checks that bounce in every city he's in. He also pretends to be a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yeah." A long silence lingers as they eat their sundaes. "Uh, I think I need to go to the restroom. Be back in a minute." He gets up from his seat and disappears into the men's room.

Helga lets out a long sigh in relief. The awkwardness was just too much. She rubs her temple while letting out another sigh. It was giving her a headache too. A dull one, but it was still there.

She has no clue if she could keep up this act. Should she just leave Arnold here and let the real Cecile make up an excuse tomorrow? Helga couldn't do that to her. Besides, this was her fault. She was the one that didn't listen when she was warned not to go out. She has to fix this. And the worst thing is that she doesn't want to.

Helga rests her head on the table, "Criminey." She mutters to herself.

"What did you say?" Helga's head shoots up and sees Arnold siting next to her again, his eyes large with amazement. "Did you just say 'criminey'?"

"I, uh—"

"You know I've only heard one person say that ever."

"R-really?" Helga stammers.

"And she's supposed to be out of town." He says, he raises an eyebrow in suspicion, another thought occurs to him, "Your accent sounds more American than usual. Why is that Cecile?"

"I, uh…" _Think Helga, think!_ "I've… been practicing my diction in my spare time!" Helga says quickly. "I want to sound more American so I could be just like you and your friends Arnold. I want to be, how you say, 'cool'." Helga's French accent is now obvious. "And what I said was 'this is a crime'. Because your sundae has been melting while you were in, what's the word, the 'John'?"

Arnold starts laughing at her reference to the bathroom, making Helga smile also. "Well thank you for being so concerned about my sundae Cecile, but it's just ice cream. It's no big deal." He moves his hand to cover hers. Helga looks from their hands up to Arnold, her eyes wide from his bold move. "You don't have to change yourself for anyone to like you Cecile. You're already cool the way you are. _I _already like you the way you are."

Helga gives a half smile, then turns her hand to clasp his with her own. "Because I'm me…" she says, almost sad-like.

Arnold blinks in surprise at the statement. "Well, yes. I do." He could have sworn he saw a tear fall down her cheek, but she brushed it away so quickly that he could have mistaken.

"Um, I'm sorry Arnold. I have to go." She leaves a few bills on the table for the ice cream and gets up from the stool. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." She briskly walks away and out the store's door.

"Wait! Cecile!" he calls after her, but it's too late. She's gone. "What did I do?…"

~~~~~

Helga runs hard all the way to the one place where she could be herself and not worry about being judged. Tina Park. Only when she reaches the bridge crossing over the pond does she stop. She sits herself on the edge, dangling her feet over the side. Staring at her reflection she tries to ignore her headache, she has bigger problems to worry about.

"Why?!" she asks herself, "Why him, of all people, have to walk into Slausen's at the exact time I was in there?! The EXACT person I wanted to avoid had to find me!"

Her reflection smirks at her. "I hate to say it, but I told you not to go out in broad daylight Helga. But you didn't listen."

Helga blinks in surprise, "Cecile?!"

Her smirk seems to widen "The one and only."

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF CRIMINEY IS GOING ON HERE?!"

"Calm down Helga. Stop acting so surprised." She says calmly.

"But it IS a surprise! At least to me it is sister!" Helga shouts, "How could this happen?!"

Cecile rolls her eyes, "It's one of the aftereffects of the potion. Doi."

"Then why did you have to write those freakin' notes to me?"

"Because only when your body starts getting used to taking the concoction does the aftereffects, like being able to talk to me, happen." She waves a hand as if to brush the topic aside. "But that's not the point. The point is that you ran into Arnold." she crosses her arms, "And he thinks Cecile is a dimwitted ignoramus now."

"But he held my hand! He thinks _I'm_ cool!" Helga argues.

"Correction, he held _Cecile's_ hand, and now he _doesn't_ think I'm cool." Cecile narrows her eyes at her counterpart. "How am I supposed to win Arnold's love for you if you mess everything up?"

Helga looks down at her feet. She doesn't want to admit it, but Cecile is right. The only reason Helga was doing this was for Arnold, and she was messing it up. "You're right. You can't do it if I keep messing things up." She slowly nods her head. "I won't go out in public from now on. I promise."

Cecile smiles warmly at Helga, "Good. And in time Arnold will be ours."

Helga nods her head in agreement. "Yes, in time." With renewed strength, she gets up and starts walking home. The gorgeous colors of the sunset behind her.

~~~~~

Arnold's feet drag as he slowly makes his way back to the boarding house. His head down low, staring at the sidewalk as it disappears underneath his feet. The dull headache that he has is hardly noticeable. His football shaped head was, more or less, confused about a certain blonde haired girl.

Cecile was acting so strange at Slausen's. Why did she run away like that for? Was it because he put his hand on hers?

Arnold scratches the back of his head thoughtfully. Maybe it was too big of a step for them right now. Heck he was only nine years old. But at the time that's what his heart told him to do. He wanted to feel the softness of her hand on his. So, he did what his heart told him to do. And if it was such a big deal for Cecile to run away like that, why did she hold his hand back?

Arnold nearly stops at that thought. She _did_ hold his hand back! That has to at least mean something!

But she ran away from you. What's up with that? Maybe she was just being nice. She could have thought that it was an American thing that friends do. Kind of like a handshake, only more personal.

And what about what she said? 'Because I'm me.' That was almost exactly what Helga said at the bus stop on Monday. That had to be a coincidence, right? Yeah. That's it. It was a coincidence. It had to be.

Arnold lets out a deep sigh. He doesn't know what to think of Cecile, or what to do. The only thing he could think of doing was to keep being his optimistic self and talk about what happened with her tomorrow at school.

Hopefully she'll still want go to the movies. He's still looking forward to tomorrow.


	6. For The Love Of A Woman

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter:

Arnold: So far we know our suspect is female, lives in the tri-state area, and is somewhere in between the ages of eight and… eighty seven…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 6 - For The Love Of A Woman

The darkness in the street seems to stretch on forever, into every corner of the alley. Even with the aid of one lonely lightpole on one corner, it was still not enough to ward off the night.

Though he knew he shouldn't have been out without a flashlight, he had forgotten it, thinking it wouldn't matter. All he needed to get was some microwave popcorn for his much anticipated 'Dogs' musical on TV. He happily skipped home from the store, the popcorn in the white plastic bag that was held in his chest.

He never knew what hit him. All he remembered was that a figure slammed into him and falling to the rough cement, in pain.

~~~~~

Cecile calmly turns the dial on her locker. With ease, she unlatches it and opens the door. While picking up the necessary books for her next class, she glances at the mirror that was hanging in the back.

Helga's face reflects back at her, holding up a thumbs-up sign for good luck.

Cecile smiles back, then nods her appreciation.

"Ahem." she looks over to see Arnold leaning on the lockers to her right. "Um, hey Cecile."

A kind, yet shy and nervous smile tugs at her lips, "Bonjour Arnold. How are you this morning."

"I'm doing fine." He rubs the back of his neck anxiously, "Actually, no. I'm not. I'm really confused."

Cecile looks down at her feet, knowing what he was talking about. "About yesterday."

He slightly nods, "Yeah, about yesterday." He lets out a deep sigh, "Cecile, I'm sorry if I startled you, it's just that… well…" he struggles, not really sure about the words he needs.

"Just what?" her big cerulean eyes drift up to look into his emerald green eyes, questioningly.

"It's just that I really like you Cecile. And I really wanted to show you that I care about you." he bites the corner of his lip, then looks down at the tiles, which suddenly became interesting to look at. "I'm really sorry Cecile."

Cecile looks at him for several moments. She knew he was serious about this, but why did he insist on doing so? It wasn't his fault, yet he made it seem like he was the one that scared her away. With a sigh, she smiles amusingly. Men. She reaches out and gently lifts his chin, making him look her in the eye. "Arnold, do not apologize for something you did not do. I was the one that ran. You did nothing."

She lowers her hand, though it still feels like the softness of her skin never left it's spot. He can't tear his eyes from hers. They're hypnotic, and yet, so familiar. Like the feeling of coming home, a home where he knew he belonged. A question tugs at his heart, "Then why did you leave so quickly?" The question came automatically.

Now Cecile looks down at the floor, almost in shame, "Because I'm scared." She shakes her head, "I'm scared that I will have to leave again. I don't want to leave you again Arnold. It hurt me too much to do it a second time. Because… I care about you too."

Arnold is shocked. Cecile cares about him too. He unconsciously raises his hand to her cheek and strokes it with the back, not really thinking about what he did. Cecile raises her eyes to his in surprise by his bold move, "Do you want to stay?" he asks.

"More than anything."

He smiles his famous halfway grin, "Then stay."

A beautiful smile spreads on her lips, her eyes fill with a happiness that seem to make her eyes sparkle. "I will stay."

His eyes seem to travel to her full lips. A soft rose pink color. They look perfect. How he wishes that he could kiss those lips. How he wishes he could kiss _her_. To feel the tenderness of her lips on his. Without realizing it, he starts leaning in, her image becoming closer with each passing second. His eyes drift close as they became nose to nose. A wish of his was about to come true.

BAM!

Arnold and Cecile both flinch at the sound. A fist landed right between them on the metal lockers. The fist belongs to no other than Curly Gamelthorp.

"What the heck were you doing Arnold?!"

"I, uh—"

"I'll tell you what you were doing! You were making a move on my girl!"

"Curly, what are you tal—" Arnold jumps out of the way of Curly's fist, just missing him my millimeters.

"How could you do this Arnold?! How could you?!" he screams. By now a crowd has gathered around the scene that's opening before them, curious and engrossed.

"Curly there has been some misunderstanding!" Arnold holds his hands up in front of him to show that he isn't threatening Curly.

"Yeah there's been some misunderstanding! How could I have ever been friends with you?!" he takes another swing at Arnold but misses when Arnold ducks from the punch.

"Curly, please don't do this! I don't want someone to get hurt!"

"The only one of us that's gonna get hurt is you!" Curly growls, "I'm gonna send you home in a body cast!"

Cecile runs in-between the two boys, "Curly stop! Don't do this!"

"How could you do this to me Cecile?! Didn't our love mean anything?!" Curly cries, on the verge of tears.

"Curly, I'm sorry, but I'm not in love with you."

"What?"

"Look, you're a nice guy, Curly, but I'm not interested in you in that way."

"But, but, but…" he stammers, not believing his ears. "But I thought…"

"I'm sorry Thaddeus. You didn't know that I didn't like you in that way." She gives him an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry." She walks over to him and gives him a hug, which he gladly accepts.

The crowd looks on in amazement. She had calmed Curly Gamelthorp in just minutes. No one has ever done that when Curly went crazy like he just did.

Cecile loosens the hug and steps back from Curly, both smiling to each other with a new respect.

"Come on. Break it up people. There's nothing to see here." Says a voice moving into crowd. Arnold looks over and sees Gerald and Phoebe making their way to them. 

The kids grumble about not seeing a fight and they eventually move away. Curly waves goodbye at Cecile and goes to his own locker further down the hall.

"What was that all about?" asks Gerald, his eyebrow raised in question and his hands on his hips.

"What?"

"That! The mob of kids! A mob of kids don't happen for just no reason!"

"Oh that. Curly wanted to put me in a body cast." answers Arnold.

"This is unusual behavior for even Curly. What was his reason behind this action?" asks Phoebe.

Cecile closes her locker and joins the group of friends as they start walking to Mr. Simmons' classroom. "He thinks he's my boyfriend and Arnold was right next to me when he saw us."

Phoebe pushes her glasses further up her nose, "Ah. Now I see. Curly thought it was his obligational duty to protect what he thought was rightfully his. That seems like a perfectly understandable misinterpretation."

"Huh?" asks Gerald, not understanding what Phoebe said.

"Basically because he thought I was his girlfriend, he wanted to protect me from other guys, like Arnold." explains Cecile.

"A characteristic in all males, I'm afraid." says Phoebe, grinning.

Gerald grins widely, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Arnold shakes his head in amusement at Phoebe and Gerald as they enter their class. Almost instantly he hears a low murmur of talk among his classmates. A frown covers his face as he sits in his chair, Cecile sits behind him as usual.

Rhonda turns over to them from a few chairs over. "Did you guys hear?"

"About what? The Arnold's near death experience with Curly posing as the Grim Reaper?" asks Gerald.

"What? No! Not that!" What happened in the hall was already old news by now, "About Eugene."

Arnold's stomach seems to drop at Eugene's name. "Did something happen to him?"

Rhonda nods in to confirm what he thought was right, "I'd say something happen to him. He was run over!"

Arnold's mouth drops in shock. "Eugene was run over by a car?!"

"Not a car, a person."

Gerald raises an eyebrow, "Eugene was run over by a person?"

"Yeah, and I heard he was in the hospital."

"Have you heard of how's he doing?" asks Phoebe.

Rhonda shrugs her shoulders, "No one's heard anything. No one even knows who ran him over."

Just then Eugene walks into the class, whistling happily to himself. Everyone stares at him, wondering what he was doing here.

"Eugene? Are you alright?" asks Arnold.

"Why, I'm fine Arnold! Never better!" he sits down in his seat and turns around to face the class.

"You _did_ get run over, right?" questions Gerald.

"Yeah, I did."

"Well? What happened?" asks Herald.

"First I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. It was really loud and really fast. Then the doctors looked at me and they said that I'm in perfect condition and nothing's wrong with me, that I was just scared. But they wanted to keep me in overnight, just in case. But that's not the weirdest part."

"What is the weirdest part?" asks Sid.

"When I woke up this morning, I found this!" Eugene holds up a white, clean looking paper. A check. Everyone gathers around it to see how much it was worth. In neat letters, the numbers spell out $187.63. Phoebe frowns at the figure.

Stinky whistles his approval. "That's a sure perdy penny you've got there Eugene."

"Who is it from? Do you think it's from the person that ran into you?" asks Arnold.

"The only letters I can read in the signature are B and P. And everything else is typed."

Gerald raises an eyebrow, "Typed?"

"Whoever gave Eugene this check must not want to be found." says Arnold, slightly disappointed they didn't have any more proof to find the culprit.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. I wasn't hurt, so no harm done!" he smiles happily.

"Yes, that is the important part. That you were not hurt." agrees Cecile, also smiling.

Gerald shakes his head at Eugene's once-in-a-lifetime luck. He notices Phoebe is still frowning. "Hey Phoebe. What's wrong?"

Phoebe shakes her head, "It could be nothing. I just found something odd, that's all."

"What's odd?"

"Well…" Phoebe bites the corner of her lip, thinking, "It's just that the sum of money is rather strange."

"Strange how?"

"If my calculations are correct, $187.63 is equal to £100[1] exactly."

Gerald frowns, "What, does that mean whoever ran into Eugene is English?"

"I don't know what it means." she says hesitantly.

Gerald's eyes widen. Phoebe doesn't know? Is that possible?

Mr. Simmons walks into the classroom and places his briefcase on his desk, right as the tardy bell rings. Phoebe's mind shifts gears to concentrate on the first subject of the day, even though in the back of her mind lingers the oddity of Eugene's check.

~~~~~

Arnold stares out the bus window in contentment, despite a slight headache he has. A strange look is on his face and a goofy smile to match it. Gerald raises an eyebrow at his best friend's strange behavior. He's seen him like this before. It must be a girl, no doubt about it.

"Are you thinking about Cecile again?" he shakes his head in disbelief. "Man, you're pathetic, you know that?"

Arnold doesn't raise his head that's leaning on his hand, "Hmm?" Not really listening.

"Arnold?"

He doesn't look up at Gerald, "What?"

"What is the matter with you man?!"

"Nothing is the matter. Everything's perfect."

Gerald raises an eyebrow, "'Perfect'?"

"Yeah, perfect." a silence follows, but not for long.

"Okay, spill it."

Arnold finally looks up at him, "Huh?"

"Spill it. Something happened today that you haven't told me about, man. 'Cuz you're not usually this spaced out."

Arnold's smile reappears and gives into Gerald, "Okay, I'll tell you. But don't make a big deal about it, alright?"

"Alright."

"I almost kissed Cecile today."

If Gerald had been drinking something, he would have sprayed it everywhere right then. "You WHAT?!_"_

A few of the other passengers turn and stare at him when he raised his voice. Gerald blushes and tries to ignore them, "You _almost_ kissed Cecile?!"

Arnold nods, "Yeah, that's why Curly wanted to punch my lights out today before class. He saw us about to kiss."

Gerald shakes his head in amazement, "Mmm mmm mmm. You're one bold kid Arnold, one bold kid. You're lucky she saved you from getting your butt kicked."

"Yeah, lucky." He lets out a long, heartfelt sigh, "I'm really looking forward to tonight."

"Yeah, I heard that this movie was pretty good."

"And it'll be better because Cecile will be with us too."

Gerald shakes his head, smiling, "This is a pretty serious crush you have Arnold my man."

Arnold's eyes suddenly become serious, "Gerald… I think…" he fades off.

Gerald raises an eyebrow, "You think what?"

"I think it's more than a crush this time." he looks his best friend in the eye. "I think… I love her."

* * *

[1] One hundred English pounds


	7. Dream Girls

Hey Arnold Quote of the Chapter:

Helga: All I wanted was the hat! And world domination... But right now just the hat!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7 - Dream Girls

"Whoa! Wait a minute! Time out man! What do you mean 'you think you love her'?"

Arnold lets out a heavy sigh, "Exactly what I meant, Gerald. I think I love her."

"No, this isn't happening." He holds head in his hands, "You're not really saying what I think you saying. How could you even say that man?! She's only been going to PS 118 four days! How could you say that after just four days?!"

"Because I feel like I already know her Gerald!" Arnold shouts, unintentionally, "For some reason, I have this weird feeling that I've always known her." He shifts his gaze out the bus window, stubbornly, "I don't care if it's four days or four years, I love her."

"No Arnold. You said you 'think' you love her. There's a big difference."

He looks back at him with a frown, "Why is this such a big deal to you anyways? Is it that hard to believe that I love this girl?"

"It's a big deal because I know how you acted with Ruth and Lila. And when you tried to "go out" with both of them, it blew up in your face." He shakes his head, "I just want you to be careful bro, that's all. I don't want it to blow up in your face again."

Arnold smiles in gratitude for the concern. Gerald may act like the cool cat most of the time, but Arnold knows he's a softy at heart. "Don't worry about me, Gerald. This time, I'm positive I'll end up with the girl of my dreams."

Gerald shrugs his shoulders, but is still unconvinced. "Whatever man. Just be careful, a'ight? I worry about you and your girl troubles sometimes."

"Sure Gerald, I will. Even if it's unnecessary." The bus slows to a halt at Arnold's stop. He gets up and turns to his best friend, "I'll meet ya at the theater tonight, alright?" he sticks out his fist.

Gerald moves his own fist out to complete their special handshake. "A'ight. Keep it real bro." Gerald watches as his best friend walks off the bus and disappear from sight as the bus starts again. He shakes his head in worry. "I hope you know what you're doing man."

~~~~~

With a sigh of relief Arnold plops down on his bed, glad that the long day was over. It was an eventful day. Definitely a long day. He closes his eyes as he goes over in his mind what happened. First Curly wanted to beat him up because, for some weird reason, Curly thought he was going out with Cecile. He was glad when she stepped in and stopped the fight. He would have hated to use the karate that Grandma taught him.

And then there was Eugene. To be more precise, Eugene's check. It is so weird that it would just appear out of nowhere like that, by an anonymous person. He wasn't hurt, so there wouldn't be any reason to feel obligated to do such a thing. Arnold lets out a long sigh as his mind settles into calmness. It doesn't make any since to him whatsoever, so he's not going to think about it.

Arnold's eyes open and is shocked when he doesn't find himself in his bedroom. Instead he's standing in the middle of a wide, flower covered field. The stars shining brightly in the night's sky and the moon is full and glowing a luminous white. His clothes have changed also. Instead of his usual school clothes he's in his deep blue Romeo costume from the 'Romeo and Juliet' play he was in.

A heavenly voice fills the air with unearthly music, seeming to urge Arnold to look for the singer. In the distance is a hill just beyond the meadow Arnold stands in. Maybe this singer is on top this hill.

Treading through the never-ending field of flowers, he arrives at the foot of the hill. There's someone on it.

Crawling on hands and knees, he climbs the steep hill for what seems to be an eternity. The shadow of a figure sits on a rock on the very top, singing even more beautifully than ever, though that hardly seems possible.

"Who are you?" he calls to the stranger.

The music slows to an end and several long moments pass in silence before the singer speaks, "I? I am the lover of your heart, the paramour of your essence, and the reason of your being. Why do you ask who I am my love?"

Arnold's arm is suddenly yanked forcefully away from this person. He is shocked to find Helga, dressed in filthy beggar's rags, roughly pulling on his arm, a desperate look on her face. "Don't listen to her Arnold! Don't fall for it!"

"Helga?! What are you doing?!"

"I'm trying to save you Arnold! It's not too late!"

"Too late? For what?"

"She's slowly poisoning you." tears involuntarily start falling down her cheeks, "You can't go with her Arnold."

Arnold looks back and finds Cecile emerging from the shadows, dressed in a beautiful light pink princess gown. A small golden crown on her perfectly golden hair. Her blue eyes half lidded, a smile on her lips. "My Arnold." she coos, "What foolishry is she speaking of? I would never do such a thing to you my love, my all." Her smile widens, making Arnold's heart flutter, and she holds out a gloved hand to him. "Come my love. Let's leave her here with her lies. She will never understand what it is like to love and be loved."

Without warning chains appear around Helga, trying to drag her into the darkness. "Arnold!"

"Helga!" he grabs her arms and tugs against the force of the shackles, "Hold on Helga! We can save you!"

"Arnold, don't worry about me!" her breathing is short and labored, "Run! You have to run! Don't let her get you!" she struggles against the ever tightening chains, "I'll never forgive myself if she gets you!" she grabs his arms also, "Arnold, I need to tell you something!"

"What is it?" he asks through gritted teeth.

"It wasn't the heat of the moment!"

The sudden confusion is apparent as he snaps his attention to Helga, "What? What are you talking about?!"

"On the top of the FTi building when I said I love you, it wasn't the heat of the moment!" a single tear rolls down her dirtied cheek, "I've always loved you Arnold, and I always will! Now run!"

"No Helga! I'm not giving up on you! You don't either!" he shouts.

"No Arnold! You can't save me! You have to run! I love you too much for you to get caught!" Helga looks up at him and gazes into Arnold's eyes deeply. He has only seen extreme anger from her eyes until now, which reflects a deep feeling of sadness and regret. "I'm so sorry…" she barely whispers.

Almost instantly the iron chains began to glow a fierce red, growing fire hot within seconds.

"Ah!" his hands instantly let go of the burning chain, his hands screaming from the pain. Quickly he realizes what he did. "Helga!" His hand automatically shoots out to grab Helga but all he see was her body being dragged into the blackness.

He falls to his knees in deep grief. Why? Why did this happen? _How_ could it happen? He places his head in his burnt hands, but he doesn't notice the pain. All he knows is that Helga is gone because he couldn't save her.

"Oh Arnold…" He looks up to see Cecile crouching next to him, deep worry etched in her face, "What is wrong? Why do you mourn for the girl in chains?"

"Because I couldn't save her! She was my friend, and I couldn't save her…" he looks down at a red rose that seems to appear from nowhere between his legs.

She shakes her head sympathetically, "Oh Arnold my love, no matter how hard you could have tried, in the end it would have been the same. She was doomed to be forever lost into the darkness of her own black heart. She did this to herself and she knew it from the beginning." She places a hand on his cheek and lifts his head to look into his eyes, "Why do you lie and say that you were her friend my beloved?"

"Because she _is_ my friend!" he corrects her, the reference to Helga in past tense is upsetting him greatly, "I wasn't lying."

Cecile frowns, "How can that be true? You ignored her since the first day preschool. The only reason you paid any heed to her was when she bullied you." She stands up gracefully and holds out a hand for him, "Come. Let us leave and forget this place. Let us go where can not be troubled by our pasts."

Arnold hesitates a moment, looking back at where Helga disappeared. He let's out a deep sigh. For some reason Cecile's words didn't help his aching heart. He looks back up at Cecile's beautiful face. It seems to glow with kindness and love. He smiles back at her. He reaches up and grabs her hand and pulls himself up.

Cecile's smile widens, "You are mine now Arnold. Forever."

He looks down at his hands and is shocked when he sees them completely healed, with no scars anywhere on them. In its place is a cursive C on his right palm in jet black ink.

"Arnold." She coos, "Arnold... Arnold... Arnold..."

"Arnold! Arnold! Wake up Shortman, you have a phone call."

"Ah!" Arnold's torso shoots up in panic, his heart racing.

"Gee Arnold, you okay?"

Arnold looks over to see Grandpa sitting on the edge of his bed. He's back in his room. He nods, "Yeah Grandpa, I'm okay. Just a strange dream."

Phil raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "Weird dream huh? You didn't happen to eat raspberries before you fell asleep, did ya?"

Arnold frowns, "No, I didn't eat raspberries, Grandpa."

"Well that's a relief!"

"Didn't you say something about a phone call?"

"Oh yeah! I plum forgot. Gerald's on hold for ya downstairs. I told him I'd wake ya up so he could talk to ya." Grandpa stands up and walks to the door, stopping in the door frame. "He sounded kinda anxious if ya ask me. But it's none of my business. Say hello to Gerald for me Shortman."

"Thanks Grandpa, I'll tell him." Arnold lets out a stressful sigh as Grandpa disappears through the door, his mind still on the weird dream. It was so weird. It felt so real. Was it suppose to mean something? If so, what? He rubs his forehead irately. It's doesn't make any sense to him. Helga's fine. She isn't in any kind of trouble. She's at her Aunt's out of town. So why would he have a dream about her and Cecile? What could it mean? He shakes his head and stands up, walking down the stairs. It just doesn't make any sense to him.

He picks up the phone in the hallway on the first floor and presses the hold button. "Hey Gerald. What's up?"

"Quite a bit is up brotha. Quite a bit."

Arnold frowns, "What happened?"

"Uh..." he hesitates, "Well it's about Eugene's check."

Arnold blinks, slightly confused. Why did Gerald call to talk about this? "Yeah?"

"You see, Phoebe told me at school today that it's exactly £100."

Arnold nods to himself, thinking, "So the person that wrote it must be English. That's not going to help much."

"Yeah, but she also said she wasn't sure if it really was written by an English dude."

Arnold frowns again, "She's not sure?"

"Yeah, that's what she said."

"Wow. Someone's actually baffled Phoebe. That's a first."

"That's not the half of it. Phoebe just found something... well..." he struggles, "Unbelievable if you ask me."

"What'd she find?"

"Here, let me give the phone to her. She can explain it better."

Phoebe's at Gerald's house? "Alright." A little shuffling is heard on the other end as Gerald gives the phone to Phoebe.

"Arnold?" she asks uncertainly.

"Hey Phoebe. What did you find?"

"First, let me ask you a question."

Arnold raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "Sure, I guess."

"Have you started 'Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde'?"

He grimaces, he had forgotten all about Mr. Simmons' reading assignment until now, "I tried a couple of nights ago, but I kinda got distracted. Why?"

"I am regretful to say that I, too, have also procrastinated on reading the novel also. So I began to read the story today, unwilling to put it off any longer, and I found a rather interesting event." She takes a deep breath, as if to brace herself, "In the first chapter Mr. Enfield is telling Mr. Utterson a story about a strange door, also mentioning that a man named Mr. Edward Hyde tramples over a little girl. She was okay, but her family demanded that Mr. Hyde would pay for it. To repay them for their troubles he writes a check for £100."

Arnold's eyes widen in amazement, "It sounds exactly like what happened to Eugene!"

"I contemplate this is not a coincidence Arnold. Someone is coping Edward Hyde from the book."

Arnold shakes his head, "But who would do something like that to Eugene? Of all people, why him? That part doesn't make sense."

"Well, the most logical answer I've come up with is that it was pure chance. Eugene was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I guess that makes sense."

He hears Phoebe sigh on the other end, "In the end there's still not enough evidence to find out who ran into Eugene last night, or if something else will happen to someone else."

Arnold bites the corner of his lip in deep thought, "Hmm…"

"Do you have a thesis on this subject Arnold?" Phoebe asks hopefully.

He scratches his head, still thinking, then lets out a sigh of submission, "I really don't know. Maybe this doesn't mean anything. Maybe we're making a big deal out of nothing."

"We can only hope."

He nods in agreement, mostly for himself, "Yeah, I think so too." He lets out a long sigh, "Well, I'll see you and Gerald tonight at the theater."

"Six o'clock, correct?"

"Yup, six o'clock."

"We'll see you then Arnold."

"Yeah, see ya." He places the phone back on it's receiver, more puzzled than ever. He shakes his head. Everything that happened this afternoon is giving him a headache. Arnold rubs his temple as he walks up the stairs back into his room. Hopefully it will go away by six.


End file.
